Since I have become more active on-line, both in Compuserve forums and on the
Internet, I have accumulated a lot of small files that I would like to keep
for reference purposes. Examples: a message containing a particularly
interesting nugget from a forum thread, a news item from one of the Internet
providers. Most of these can be downloaded in some form or another, but the
formats are not necessarily compatible with each other. I accumulate several
each week and periodically toss out old or irrelevant ones. Right now, I've
accumulated more than 100 items. At first, I was printing them out and
filing them neatly in a notebook. But, as they accumulated, this paper-based
system began to seem a bit silly. Lately, I have been paying my able
assistance to cut and paste them into a word processing file (WordPerfect for
Win), where I can at least sort them into chapters and later be able to
automatically search the whole text file for words and phrases when I am
trying to find something. This "cut and paste" activity is very tedious and
time consuming, however, and occasionally she deletes something
inadvertently. Can anyone suggest a better approach?
For reference text, you might consider archiving as much as possible in ASCII
format (i.e.,basic text), rather than WordPerfect. Just about every text editor out there can import/convert it at need, and it will take up less hard disk space than most text editor formats. I file much of my ref. material in the file sys. built into my mail tool - I have about 100 topics, some with subtopics. Keeping things filed by subject topic (i.e., as simple as possible) seems to work best.
KC
KC -
What mail tool are you using? The option of creating subfiles to mail
categories is a tool I'm very interested in. Thanks
Sandy Stelter, NAPO member
Hi Pamela,
<<Can anyone suggest a better approach?>>
Although I don't know that my approach is better, I do know that it works
very well for me.
Unlike you, I subscribe only to CompuServe and use WinCim (CompuServe
Information Manager). In the WinCim Filing Cabinet I've created a variety of
"drawers" with one-word names that best describe a topic. If, after reading a
message, I decide to save it, I file it in the drawer that best describes the
topic..
In WordPerfect, I have set up directory names that for consistency (and
logical) purposes are the same as the "drawers" in WinCim.
Routinely I go to WordPerfect (5.1), pull the entire directory selection up
on the screen, go to the CSERVE directory; then to the Filecabinet
subdirectory. Open each filefolder, determine the topic, and re-file it in
the correct WP51 directory.
Sounds complex, but it is so easy! I effortlessly find what I want and when I
want. In addition, you'll find the material so logically filed that anyone
else in your office could find it without your assistance.
In your case, since the material is coming from a variety of sources, a
WordPerfect directory could be titled "Online." The subdirectories could be
the wide range of topics that best describe the material collected.
If you decide to try this method, please let me know how it works for you.
Good luck.
Donna Cowan, NAPO Member
Personally, I use OzWIn to get CIS messages. When they come in, I read
everything and mark the messages that I want to keep. Then I save them to a
text file by forum (one file per forum) and delete everything to keep my
OzWin clean.
Periodically (not often enough, though), I go into each text file with Word
Perfect for Windows and clip out each message. I've created a macro
(actually, the macro was in WP 6.0 for DOS and I haven't yet converted it to
WP for Windows) that will clip from the cursor to the next message, move it
to a new document, then position the cursor at the subject and pause. When
you move it to the subject you want (it isn't smart enough to dump out the
"#" or replied to message number) and press ENTER, it saves the file with the
subject as the file long name and the message number as the file short name.
I've got one directory for each forum.
WP for Windows has the full-text indexer, so I can easily find messages
simply by looking at the long name or by doing a full-text search. Of
course, having one file per message wastes some disk space, but disks are
cheap, it isn't THAT much wasted space, and the small price of the wasted
space is more than compensated by the ease of finding messages on any
particular topic.
Without the macro, it would be a pain. Maybe I can send it to you (once I
get around to making it work with WP for Windows (grin)).
Worse, though, is that I don't always have the time to go through the files
on a timely basis, so it tends to be a pretty big job when I DO have the
time.
Right now I'm using Mail Tool, a utility in SUN's Open Windows operating
system on their UNIX systems, but I believe Microsoft has comparable
products. I'm surprised the Compuserve Filing Cabinet doesn't have a similar
feature, but I can accomplish the same thing by using category codes as part
of file names - such as TPP for Telecommuting Pilot Programs, Then adding a
subject: TPPrequests, TPPstudies, etc.
>...I've created a macro (actually, the macro was in WP 6.0 for DOS and I
haven't yet
>converted it to WP for Windows) that will clip from the cursor to the next
message,
>move it to a new document, then position the cursor at the subject and
pause.
>When you move it to the subject you want (it isn't smart enough to dump out
the "#"
>or replied to message number) and press ENTER, it saves the file with the
subject
>as the file long name and the message number as the file short name. I've
got one
>directory for each forum.
Your approach seems similar to mine, except that you are keeping multiple
files and I have been dumping mine all into one file. Also I get info from
Internet news groups and other sources as well. Mainly, however, I lack any
macros or other automation of the process and would appreciate receiving a
copy of your macro. I might even be able to modify it enough to use it
outside of Compuserve. Any automation would be appreciated, especially by my
able assistant, who does all the grunt work (and by me, who pays her by the
hour). Thanks,
Pamela DeSmidt
>> ...would appreciate receiving a copy of your macro. <<
It may take a few days (busy like you wouldn't believe), but I'll upload it
for you as soon as I get it working in WP Win.
>> Your approach seems similar to mine, except that you are keeping multiple
files and I have been dumping mine all into one file. Also I get info from
Internet news groups and other sources as well. <<
I also subscribe to some Internet news groups and wind up with around 50-100
messages a day in my in-box. My e-mail program allows for folders, so I
generally have been putting the important messages into those folder. I've
not yet exported them to directories, but that it in the "plan".
There are advantages and disadvantages to having things in a single file
versus having multiple files. A single file wastes less disk space, though
with NetWare 4.1's disk compression and suballocation, this is less of a
problem. Not to mention that disks are fairly inexpensive and the amount of
wasted space isn't THAT high.
Having individual files is a little easier to manage, though. Let's say that
you look for a particular word in your messages, trying to find all messages
related to that one topic. If you've got individual files per message,
you'll get a "hit" of all applicable messages and can quickly and easily read
just those specific messages, print them out easily, etc. If they're all in
a single file (perhaps by forum), you'll have to search in those huge files,
which can take some time to retrieve (especially in WP, which creates those
huge temporary files).
Also, if you have individual files, they're pretty much automatically sorted
by message number (or topic, if you prefer). In a single file, you can't
easily read through a single thread. I also find that I often save a message
more than once (I'll do it one time, not delete the message from OzWin, and
then later resave it - or I'll get a message as tagged to me and then later
as just one in the thread I selected). Having a single file means that
you'll get the message more than once in that file. Having multiple files
simply means that it will be overwritten each time you save it, which has no
effect because the message is identical each time.